Shimla: Out of 12,034 drug samples only 168 declared substandard in 3 yrs

The written reply was placed in the House in response to the question by Sullah MLA Vipin Singh Parmar to the health and family welfare department

Out of the 12,034 drug samples collected from pharma industries in Himachal Pradesh in last three years, only 168 samples were declared not of standard quality (NSQ), informed the state government in its written reply during the ongoing assembly session.

The Himachal drug manufactures association had met the Union health minister JP Nadda and demanded National Task Force for controlling of spurious and fake drugs. (HT Photo for representation)

The written reply was placed in the House in response to the question by Sullah MLA Vipin Singh Parmar to the health and family welfare department.

The state government in its reply said that there are 651 pharma units in the state as on date and of the 12,034 drug samples taken for testing, only 168 were declares sub standard. Out of these 168, legal action was taken in 40 cases and administrative action was implemented in 52 cases under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Investigations were conducted in 65 cases, out of which 11 cases were found related to manufacturing units. Reports of these investigations were challenged, in which two samples were found to be of standard quality, and nine reports were confirmed as substandard.

The state government’s reply further read that there is one state-level drug testing laboratory established at Baddi and has been named “Drug Testing Laboratory, Baddi,” which is operational since January 8. In this laboratory, approximately 6,000 samples will be analyzed every year and it received accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) on November 12. Apart from this, a combined testing laboratory has been established at Kandaghat, Solan district, where samples of both food items and medicines are tested.

It may be mentioned that the Himachal drug manufactures association had met the Union health minister JP Nadda and demanded National Task Force for controlling of spurious and fake drugs highlighting that, “A perception is being created that drugs manufactured in Himachal are not complying with set standards but this is not the ground reality”. The HDMA had demanded that Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, should constitute a task force to trace the entire distribution channels through which such spurious drugs are marketed across various states so that the reputation of pharmaceutical industry of Himachal is not harmed.